Colton Eliasen buried his first collegiate goal in the 88th minute to give the Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Soccer Team the late equalizer to bring the match to its 1-1 final.

After nearly 80 minutes of play, Anderson’s Mariano Carpena broke the scoreless draw with a header at the back post. However, looking to avoid their second consecutive shutout, Eliasen gave LR the breakthrough moment it was searching for all night.

Despite the result, LR outplayed Anderson all night on the pitch, outshooting the hosts, 22-9. The Bears also accumulated six shots on goal which were fired on net by five different LR players.

Eliasen’s goal is the second time the Bears have scored in the final three minutes of conference play. Adrian Martina’s winner against Tusculum came in the 90th minute. The Bears fired their most shots in a single match this season with 22. The previous high was 11 against Tusculum on Sept. 9, a match that the Bears won, 1-0.

LR tied its single-game high with five yellow cards. Both squads were shown five bookings in a physical battle. Eliasen’s equalizer was also accredited as the first unassisted goal of the season for the Bears.

Both sides each had four corner kicks. The Bears lead the corner kicks battle with their opponents, 20-16, through the first five matches of the season.

Anderson continues to lead the all-time series, 9-7-6. This result extends LR’s unbeaten streak to four over Anderson, however, the three-match win streak does come to a close. This draw is the first time these two sides have walked away with a point since a 1-1 draw in Hickory on Oct. 7, 2017.

The Bears have not tied a conference opponent on the road since a 1-1 result against Tusculum on Oct. 17, 2021. The next time LR will be on the road marks the start of a four-match road stretch, its longest of the season.

The Bears record is now 1-2-2 overall, 1-1-1 in South Atlantic Conference play.  The Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Soccer Team will return to the Moretz Sports Athletic Campus on Saturday, Sept. 23 for a match against Mars Hill. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. as the Bears look to snap a two-match losing streak to the Lions